At the Erectheion on the Acropolis of Athens, one part of this ancient temple was dedicated to Poseidon, the god of the sea. Another part, the part that faced the city was dedicated to Athena, the goddess of the city court/wisdom. Athenians believed there was a contest between Poseidon and Athena, to determine who would become Athen’s patron deity. As such, this place at the Acropolis was considered very holy, as it was identified as the site of the contest between the two gods. In the front of the Erectheion is a little porch (known as the Porch of the Caryatids) statues hold up the roof, instead of columns.
It’s important to understand a concept that was developed among the Greeks after the 7th century BC. Prior to the 7th century BC, Greeks believed their gods were spiritual personalities and did not depict them at all. However, during this time, we see the beginning of the process that led to what we now call Athenian democracy of the 5th century BC. This re-evaluated the value of humans, elevating the Athenian citizen to the highest stage of authority.
During this period, Athenians began imagining their gods in the ideal shape of a human. It was also the time when artists began to create monumental art. This very special style, classical style, depicted divinity, using the concept called anthropomorphism.
By the time of the fifth century BC, divine presence, in a sacred place, was pointed out with a column or pillar. A column was a symbol of the presence of divinity. This is why Greek temples have so many columns and pillars. It is not just an engineering or aesthetic issue, but a religious one. The column is a symbol of divinity. This idea is also seen in other cultures of the Mediterranean world, such as the Egyptians, who had obelisks pointing to the heavens, and in the Old Testament, Jacob in Bethel, after his vision, took the stone he used as a pillow, and after he set it upright, he made a libation on it, declaring, “This pillar is the symbol of God’s presence here.” He named the place Bethel, the “house of God.” The divine presence in the desert is also represented by a column of fire or a column of cloud. Do you remember Joshua and the pillar called Ebenezer? And the two columns on either side of the gate of Solomon’s temple?
With the establishment of anthropomorphism, columns began to be replaced with human figures. The maidens of Athens, the Caryatid statues holding up the porch of the Erectheion, depict Greek anthropomorphism.
Anthropomorphism means humanization of a divinity.
After Alexander the Great, anthropomorphism became a world heritage for all the Mediterranean world. So then, in the 1st century AD, when the gospel was preached, anthropomorphism became the foundation for a major Christian doctrine, the doctrine of incarnation. The incarnation refers to God, the Logos, becoming human in the person of Jesus Christ.
If you stand at the corner of the temple, look up at the corner column, and you will see that it has a subtle curve to it. This is known as entasis. A slight curve bulges out a little bit in the middle of the column. But if you stood far away and looked at the columns in a row, it would look like the columns were perfectly straight and evenly spaced.
This it the optical illusion created by entasis. The ancient Greeks designed these columns with this slight curvature to counteract the visual distortion that makes perfectly straight columns appear to bow outward. By adding entasis, they ensured that the columns look straight and harmonious when viewed from a distance, enhancing the overall beauty and symmetry of the structure.
